The Seven Seas Treasure
by kittyallstars
Summary: Amu Hinamori is in the 17th century, and she inherits a map from her father. A treasure map. But the thing is, other people want this map. And they'll do anything to get it.
1. My Past and My Future

_**Hey guys :) I hope you like this story. I apologize beforehand for any typos, mistakes, and small chapters; I'm writing this on my brother's iPod.**_

When I was a little girl, my mother told me stories at night to get me to sleep, while I sat in my bed wide-eyed...

"And then the terrible Blackbeard drew his sword, and threatened the little princess to do as he said. The princess was forced to hand over the jewels that her father had given to her before his death.

It hurt her almost a much as death to hand them over; they were the last things she had to remember the king by.

The infamous pirate smiled blackly down at the gems in his hand, walked over to the edge of the ship to watch as she was going to be thrown overboard. The sight of this infuriated the princess, and it triggered something in the girl's mind like a gun. She ran forward and hurled herself at the pirate! It surprised him, so much that he dropped the jewels.

The girl cried out as she watched them fall. She dove into the water after the gems, her mind barely even registering the fact that she could not swim.

The next thing she knew, she was in the dark, cold water. Her outreached hand grasped a single jewel, and she clutched it to her heart with all her strength. Her lungs began to burn, but she was tossed around so many times she had no idea which way was even up! She spun in circles, the current playing with her like a toy. It soon brought her to the top of the water, where she gasped for breath and brought in a mouthful of seawater as well."

My mother stopped at this point, glancing at her watch.

"Amu, sweetheart, it's time for you to go to sleep."

"But Mother, what happens to the princess?" "I'll tell you tomorrow night."

She kissed my cheek.

"Mother?" I said after a moment. "Yes?" "What if something like that happened to me? ...What will happen to me when I grow up, Mother?"

She looked at me with a beautiful smile on her face and gently brushed hair back with her fingertips.

"Amu..." She said slowly. Life is like a story that you're making up on the spot. You choose what happens, you choose how it ends. But don't rush through life, or your story. Think it through as you go, and you'll come up with a happy ending." She tickled me and I screamed with laughter.

Her face grew serious. "Just remember, Amu, that I will always be with you, even if it seems that I'm gone. If you listen to your heart, I'll be there. The tiny whispers that you can barely catch will be mine. I will always, always love you Amu." She hugged me close.

Even though I was only eight, these things that she told me, these things that I didn't understand right now, these things would stay with me for a long time.

I breathed in the scent of her perfume. Roses. She retucked me in my bed, blew out the candle on my bedside, and left; closing the door silently behind her. I was left in the darkness, contemplating what I'd just been told.

The next morning my mother was gone. She'd simply vanished. My father and his servants looked everywhere, but she had disappeared like a morning mist. They said that she was gone forever, maybe dead. But I knew in my heart she was out there somewhere. I think maybe she was telling me that night, telling she had to go. I didn't know why, I didn't know where, but I knew she still loved me.

My name is Hinamori Amu. I am the daughter of the Duke of Avon, and the daughter of a loving mother. I didn't need to know more.

**7 Years Later**

My father was dead. This single thought ran over and over through my mind as I stared at the newly made grave. I laid down the flowers I had brought on top of it.

Memories flashed in my mind. When I was little and he tossed up in the air and caught me again while I squealed with laughter. When I fell down and he would kiss and bandage my cuts. When he taught me my studies himself instead of simply hiring a tutor. On my 15th birthday he gave me a ring that had been my mother's. It was adorned with rubies and sapphires. I glanced at my right hand now, and there it sat on my ring finger. My whole life he had made time for me, no matter how busy he was.

The tears ran steadily down my face. I missed him so, so much. But, there was something else. I was not ready to take over the responsibility of becoming Duchess of Avon.

**The Next Day, After the Reading of the King's Will...**

I said goodbye to my relatives and prepared to go upstairs to my room. I was exhausted. I turned around and jumped to see the administrator standing there. (A/N administrator: the person that carries out the will; makes sure everything in the will is in order.)

"Miss Hinamori," he began, "There is one more matter of the will. A private matter." I looked at him questioningly. I didn't know of any family possessions that could not be mentioned in front of my relatives.

He motioned for me to follow him into Father's old study. He locked the door behind me and then walked over to the large wooden desk and sat down.

He reached under the desk and moved his hands around. It looked like he was feeling for something. Suddenly I heard a *click* and a small drawer was revealed. The administrator took out a little box with tiny locks on it. He brought out a small key and slowly unlocked each one.

What could possibly be so important that I had never been told about it, and that it was kept in so many secrets!

He pulled out of the box a piece of paper. Seriously? That's all it was? A piece of paper?

He unrolled the paper-no, wait, it was a map- and laid it out before me. A gasp escaped from my lips and I whispered these words with both conviction, excitement, and fear...

"The Seven Seas Treasure!"

_**Once again I apologize for typos and all that stuff. iPod, remember? Please review and I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible.**_

_**Thanks!**_

_**~kittyallstars**_


	2. The Story and The Beach

**One Year Later…**

"Amu!" yelled the little six year-old as she ran to me and buried her head in my dress skirt. I hugged Ami's tiny form.

"Hey Ami. What have you been up to today?" "Mama took me to the park, and I fed all the little duckies! They were sooo cute! One of them even quacked at me!" Her face shone with happiness.

I smiled down at her and thought about how much Ami meant to me. Last year after my father died, I'd decided I was not ready to take the place of the Duke of Avon. Next in line for it was my Uncle Tsumugu, so he and his family came to live with me.

I'd only met Uncle Tsumugu and his wife Midori once when I was 10, but I remembered them as a happy couple, kind to everyone. When they came here to live with me I was touched by their caring attitude toward me; most people just showed me pity for the loss of my mother and then my father.

Little five year-old Ami had warmed my heart immediately. Now I thought of her as a sister. In fact; Uncle, Aunt, and Cousin had all come so close to my heart, I'd come to think of them as my family.

Ami told me about her day as I looked through my desk for my lucky quill. It was from a South American quetzal bird, and it was very expensive.

"Ah. Here it is." I said, satisfied. I pulled out the beautiful emerald colored feather, but at the same time I accidentally pulled out a folded piece of paper. It dropped into my lap and I sat there staring at it.

The Seven Seas Treasure. There was a story to this treasure. I'd heard many times when I was little.

_Long ago, there was an extremely wealthy girl. Lulu De Morcef. She was so beautiful, the sun sighed when it passed her every day._

_She had many suitors, but she was in love with one in particular named Shuraiya. They became engaged, and Lulu was sure that she was going to be happy forever._

_But one morning, Shuraiya's father Kalain showed up on her doorstep. He told her that Shuraiya had fooled her, and only loved her money. Lulu refused to believe this, and asked Kalain why he would say this about his own son._

_He looked at her sadly, and said that she was yet full of life and happiness. He didn't want her to throw that away for someone that didn't even love her._

_Lulu resolved not to listen to Kalain, but a seed of doubt had been planted in her heart. It grew and grew until she could stand it no longer and confronted Shuraiya. He denied it repeatedly, but she kept pressing him until at last he confessed that he had only been in it for her money. Lulu was both furious and heartbroken, and she cross-examined and checked the backgrounds of each of her suitors._

_Out of all of them, only seven had truly loved her. Lulu had never cared for money or jewels, so what she did next was not a well-thought out decision._

_She split her treasure into 7 sections, and sailed to seven seas in which she hid each section. She made a map and cut it into 7 pieces and split it among her seven true suitors. She gave the biggest piece to her favorite suitor, Tsukiyomi Toshi. She told them they would have to work together if they wanted the treasure._

_The thing was, none of the suitors could get along. They fought continually and finally decided to quit the search._

_Lulu fell ill soon after she learned that her older brother had died. He was the only family she had left, and he was dear to her heart. She would have died from her sickness, had not Toshi helped her through it. Her nurse Nana showed him how to take care of her properly, and Lulu fell in love all over again while she got better._

_He soon proposed to her, even though she was poor, and they got married. But Lulu never told Toshi where the treasure was; she hoped that perhaps one day another generation with the pieces of map would get along and find the treasure themselves._

I had studied the piece in my hand time after time, but it was hopeless. It showed a large expanse of water, but it looked as if it were cut in half, which it probably was. In the upper left corner it said '-an Sea'. There were a lot of seas that ended in 'an'. The Caspian Sea, the Aegean Sea, the Arabian Sea, and many others.

Just like Lulu De Morcef had said, it would be impossible to find the treasure with only one piece of the map.

So next I had tried to find out who else had a piece of the map, but no one seemed to know. I'd given up on the search, but I still hoped that maybe something would turn up.

The reason that I wanted to find the treasure was because I wanted to be free. I didn't want to be a duchess, always be stuck in fancy dresses and parties with stuck up people, I wanted to sail around the world and do whatever I wanted, but I had to find the treasure in order to do that.

I slipped the paper in my apron pocket and turned back to Ami.

"Sounds like you had a great day!" I said enthusiastically as I ruffled her hair. She squeaked and hurriedly put it back into place while I laughed.

"Amu, let's go to the beach." Ami said after a moment. I nodded. "Sounds great! But I have to ask Mom-...your parents first." I almost called her parents mine! What is wrong with me?

Uncle Tsumugu and Aunt Midori said yes, on the condition that we have a guard with us for safety. That was always a drag. But the beach was worth it. And anyway, I had my own safety precaution.

I chased Ami across the sand until she splashed me with salty ocean water. "Ami!" I squealed. "You're getting me all wet!" but in the end I splashed her back and we both got soaked.

After that we wandered along the edges of the water, picking up pretty shells as we walked. But it was annoying to have the guard follow us the whole time like a shadow.

Suddenly I got an idea and leaned down to whisper in Ami's ear, "Come on, let's lose him." And we took off down the sandy beach. We made a bunch of sharp turns before finally hiding behind the dunes. We waited there for a few minutes and then popped out with big smiles on our faces.

I took in my surroundings and was surprised to find that we had run all the way to the harbor! Ami had run just as fast as I had, so we hadn't slowed down at all. We walked around looking at the ships for a while. I had always loved sailing, my father said it was in my blood. I'd gone on ships hundreds of times, and I was an expert in navigation. The sailors in the harbor stared at me and Ami and I got paranoid and decided we should head back.

Just then, a ship pulled into the harbor. I stopped for a moment to stare at it. The flag had a cat on it, of all things, and there was a name on the side of the boat. _**The Black Lynx**_. I froze. This was a legendary ship, commanded by Captain Tsukiyomi. The crew and captain were sometimes called pirates, although to my knowledge they'd never stolen anything. But they were fierce sailors, surviving many terrible storms. In fact, they even saved a shipwrecked crew once.

This enormous ship had been passed down to Captain Tsukiyomi from his father, Aruto. _I wish I could meet Captain Tsukiyomi. I wonder what he's like._ I thought to myself. I looked down at Ami who was tugging at my hand to get my attention.

"Come on, Amu!" She begged. "All these pirates scare me." I rolled my eyes and laughed but went with her.

As we walked back down the beach, I noticed that two men were following us from a distance. They stopped an old man and talked to him. Hm. Maybe I'm just getting too paranoid…but then the men pointed to me. Uh-oh. This was bad.

The two men started walking towards us again. One of them had reddish-brown hair and the other had golden hair. The man with the golden hair would have been handsome, except that he had a menacing look on his face.

"Ami," I whispered to my tiny cousin, who hadn't even noticed the men. "When I say go, I want you to run as fast as you possibly can. There are some men following us, I think they might be bad." Ami nodded with a frightened look on her face.

"Go!" I yelled and we raced down the sand. I could hear the men curse as they picked up speed to catch up with us.

Ami tripped with a cry, and I spun around and picked her up. It was too late to start running again so I shielded her with my body, facing the two men.

"Not another step!" I yelled at them. They laughed, until I pulled out a very sharp knife that I always kept under my skirts. Call it unlady-like, scandalizing, dreadful, whatever you want; I call it a healthy dose of Vitamin Unexpected.

I kept my weapon pointed at them as Ami and I slowly walked backwards. They didn't move.

It wasn't until Ami screamed that I realized that I realized there was someone behind me as well, but it was too late. A handkerchief was held to my nose…it smelled strange, and even with all my struggling I passed out in a few seconds, holding tightly to Ami who was sobbing my name.

But even as the darkness took over me, I didn't let go of her.

_**Hey guys I hope you liked this chapter. And I'm sorry for the cliffy; this was all I had time to write. Don't worry, I'll update as soon as I have the next chapter written and have access to a computer. So please review this because the reviews encourage me to update faster **_

_**Thanks,**_

_**~kittyallstars**_


	3. Kukai

_**Whoo! I had three reviews from my first chapter, (thank you to pqangael, Flip the Paige, and Rockyrocks19) and the next time I looked after I updated I have like 10 more reviews! Yippee! Ok I cannot believe I just said that but whatever lol this is the most popular fanfiction I've ever written so I'm allowed to be excited about it.**_

_**Captain Fredberry- I'm glad you like my story as my bff it means a lot when you like my fanfictions.**_

_**Rosi345- I'm writing as fast as I can! And I know how getting hooked on fanfictions feels :P I've gotten and am hooked on many.**_

_**Adri-chan- Ding Ding Ding! Give the girl a prize! XD but they're not really mean or anything. They're actually both really nice, as this chapter shows.**_

_**Crystal-chan- You **_**should**_** be worried! They got kidnapped by two freakin' stalkers! But don't worry they're not dead or anything :P**_

_**Preppy girl- Here you go! A fresh awesome update!**_

_**pikapika01- Thank you and so am I! I'm kind of just writing the story as it comes to mind lol**_

_**akira- I try but writing long chapters (they may not seem long to you but they are to me when I'm writing them :P) takes a while. Especially when I'm just writing is at comes to mind, so I gotta wait for it to come to mind lol**_

_**kitty .0- I know it's scary! Will they die? Will they live? Will they love? Let's see!**_

_**xChibinChanx- Thank you I like it too! And here it is…**_

_**KuRaI-BlOsSoM- I'm so glad you love it it's good to know people appreciate my hard work **_

**Chapter 3….**

I opened my eyes with a groan, my head ached and the room was spinning. I shook my head to clear my vision before I realized that the room really _was _tilting, swaying from side to side.

_Ami_, was my first thought, and I scrambled to my feet to look for her. Before realizing that that was unnecessary, since she was asleep on the floor next to me. She was snoring lightly and her face was angelically peaceful.

_But not for long_, I thought with a grimace. I looked around the room I was in. There was no door! How did they get us in here with no door?

Then I realized why the swaying was so familiar. My eyes were riveted to a window on the wall. A very special kind of window. A porthole. I was on a ship.

My legs collapsed from under me and I fell to my knees. Ami and I had been kidnapped, and we were somewhere in the ocean! There was no hope of someone finding us. I clenched my hands; I had to be strong for Ami. No matter what happened.

I got up and looked out the porthole. I could see a few sailors on the deck, arm wrestling and placing bets. I looked towards the sunlight. It looked like it was about noon. How long had I been unconscious? A day?

Just then I heard a noise and I whirled around. A panel in the wall was moving! Wait, it was a hidden doorway! You must only be able to open it from the outside. Through the door stepped a man holding a plate of food and a cup of water. My stomach growled and I realized how hungry I was, how dry my throat was.

Suddenly I recognized the man! He was one of the men that had helped kidnap me and Ami! I backed up slowly and shielded Ami, still asleep.

The man set down the plate and cup and he smiled gently at me.

"Hi. My name's Kukai." I just stared at him. Why was he being so nice? "Here's some food and water. It'll perk you up." I made no move towards the food, or any move at all, and his brow furrowed.

"You're not deaf or mute are you? God, that'll make this so much harder…" He ran a hand through his reddish-brown hair.

"No," I found my voice. "No I'm not deaf or mute. Why am I here? Why did you kidnap us?" I motioned to Ami and myself. Kukai grinned. "I'll let Ikuto tell you that. But not until tomorrow." I gave him another blank stare. He sighed. "Ikuto. The captain of the ship. After you talk to him you'll be free to roam the ship, except when we stop for supplies. Then you have to stay in here."

I hung my head. There was no hope of escape. Kukai patted my head but I slapped his hand away. He laughed.

"You're not very friendly, Hinamori Amu." "Why would I be friendly to people that kidnapped me, and possibly want to kill me!" I shot back. I wasn't surprised that he knew my name; of course he would if he had cared enough to kidnap me. I was the niece of the Duke of Avon, and the next in line.

He shook his head. "We're not going to kill you." I looked at him carefully. He seemed truthful. Kukai looked behind me with a soft smile and I turned my head. Ami was awake, staring with wide eyes at Kukai. I put my arms around her, as Kukai got up and left, shutting the door firmly behind him.

"Ami, sweetheart, it'll be okay." I soothed her and patted her back. Ami was crying her eyes out, saying over and over again that she missed her parents. "I won't let anything happen to you, Ami. I promise." Could I keep that promise? I would protect Ami with my life, but what if I didn't get the chance, what if we were separated?

"Amu," she sniffed. "Where are we?" "On a ship. Somewhere in the ocean." "I miss Wa-Wa!" she wailed, and I leaned back in surprise. Wa-Wa was Ami's teddy bear back at home. She'd had him ever since she was a baby.

"I'll get us out of here, Ami." I told her firmly. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes but said nothing.

"Come on!" I said brightly. "Let's eat." The food consisted of some dry biscuits and meat, but we ate it any way. The water tasted strange, but we were too thirsty to care.

Most people get sick on ships; the swaying from side to side upsets inexperienced stomachs. But I had been on ships hundreds of times, and Ami was used to them too. We sat in the room, the sun setting and the room getting darker and darker.

Kukai came in again with our supper, the same food as before. This time I talked to him a little more. I was beginning to like Kukai, even if he had kidnapped me. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy, friendly and kind.

"Kukai…could I have a candle?" I asked him hesitatingly. "I…kind of have a fear of the dark." He laughed and smiled warmly. "Yeah of course."

While he was gone I pulled out my map piece. I looked at it in the fading light. I heard a sound and looked up. Kukai was back and he was staring wide-eyed at the paper in my hands.

"That's it, isn't it?" He said in awe. "That's part of the map to the Seven Seas Treasure." I nodded cautiously, wondering how he knew that. Before I could ask he seemed to wake up from his trance. He set the candle he held down, turned around and left. I stared after him.

Then I turned my head back to the map piece. Now that it was night, the paper was much more visible in the candlelight. I reached for the candle, but yelped as I knocked over the cup of water. It spilled over the map and I snatched it up in terror. It would be ruined!

But….it was perfectly fine! I stared at it in shock. It was supposed to be blurred beyond recognition, but it was only wet! What kind of paper….I shrieked as words appeared on the map.

_Water Earth Fire Air_

I folded the paper quickly and stuffed it back into my pocket. I lay back on a sack of straw and put my head in my hands. My head was whirling with what was happening. What was happening?

Ami was curled up already fast asleep, whimpering quietly. I put my arm around her and she stopped. I blew out the candle; closed my eyes, and let sleep take over me.

_**Hey guys I hope you liked this chapter it took me a while to write so ya better appreciate it! Review please.**_

_**Thanks,**_

_**~kittyallstars**_


	4. Meeting Ikuto

_**Hey guys I'm so sorry I haven't updated sooner. Last Thursday I went camping and then I've stayed with my best friend for the rest of the week and I just got back yesterday. Anyway, here is the new chapter, and I need you to read the author notes at the bottom of the page.**_

_**Captain Fredberry is hungry :P- No it's not going to be anything like that. I'm just using the elements for a certain purpose that you will eventually find out.**_

_**pqangael- I do my best, thank you for reviewing.**_

_**addimison2- I'm glad you're interested in it I'm really enjoying writing it and so far it's my most popular story ever, and I appreciate your review.**_

_**kitty.0- I know right? There's a lot of strange stuff that's gonna happen in here, and I think that's what makes it interesting!**_

_**Thank you all for reviewing, I appreciate it.**_

I woke up to sunlight streaming in my face through the port hole. This was the day. The day I would meet Captain Ikuto. What was he like? I knew a lot of captains, most of them were old and loud, but some of them could be pretty nice. Still, I doubted someone who would capture the daughter and niece of the Duke of Avon could be very 'nice'.

I got up as quietly as I could, but the dry straw crackled so loudly it woke up Ami as well. She looked around the cabin with bright curious eyes; she didn't seem as scared as yesterday. She wandered around the room looking behind boxes and playing with the straw.

"Hey Ami, come over here." I said when I got an idea. She walked back over to me and I motioned for her to sit in front of me. She did so while looking up at me with a questioning gaze. I took out the cord that I used as a belt on my dress. It was very flimsy material, so my idea to strangle a guard with it was a failure. I snapped the rope into shorter pieces and grabbed a handful of some of the fresher, more flexible straw. I bent the straw here and there, twisted the cords in certain places, and looked at the results with satisfaction. Ami shrieked with excitement and grabbed the little straw doll I had made and hugged it fiercely.

"Thank you, thank you so much Amu!" she said happily. I smiled at her and watched as she played with her new toy. As the daughter of the Duke she was used to fancier, more expensive trinkets, but Ami was always grateful for the little things in life. This new 'toy' meant more than just a play thing. To her it was a sign of love and hope, a sign that things were going to get better. I sighed as I wondered if things actually _would_ get better, if we actually had anything to hope for at all.

Just then I heard a knock on the door/wall.

"Come in," I said tentatively. Kukai stepped in and I sighed in relief. At least I knew him, and I felt a little safer knowing he was around.

"It's time to go." He said gently. I nodded and got up. "Stay here Ami." "No," Kukai shook his head. "She's supposed to come too. Ikuto requested it." I wanted to scream but I kept silent and took Ami's hand. Kukai led us to a large cabin with a few sailors and a desk in the back. I could see a dark shape in the desk, but I put my head down and looked at the floor. I didn't want to even look at the man that would do who knows what to me and Ami. I heard him get out of his desk and walk towards me.

"So," a voice said. As much as I didn't want to look up, there was a small part of me that did because the voice sounded like a boy's. "This is the niece and heir to the throne of the Duke of Avon. She doesn't look like a duchess. More like a street rat." My eyes flashed and I looked up. Standing there was a man no older than twenty, so young to be a captain. I realized how dirty I must look.

"Considering you are the _reason_ I was kept in that filthy room, I'd say you don't really _have _a say in how I look." I snapped. He laughed. "So it's true. You do have a hot temper." I looked away again, seething in anger. Did he bring me out here just so he could prove a rumor? He put a finger under my chin and brought my head up to look at him again. "That isn't why you're here though. I need something from you, and you are going to give it to me."

I knew what he was talking about. My virginity. But why me? Why not a girl off the street that would not be missed? What was so special about getting Ami and me?

My silence seemed to irritate him, and his hold on my chin tightened. "The map piece. I want it." He whispered. I gave a start, but tried not to show my surprise. Why would he want the map piece? Unless…he was one of the others with his own piece.

"I don't know what you're talking about. There are plenty of maps in the world, go buy your own." I said nonchalantly. He shook his head with a smirk on his face. "That's not the map I'm talking about. You have it with you. Kukai told me." Of course. Kukai's kindness had all been an act. Why was I not surprised? But even then I cursed Kukai with as many curses as I could think of.

I stared Ikuto straight in the eye, and asked him slowly, "And what makes you think I'm going to give it to you?" that smirk only grew bigger. "Oh, I think you can be convinced." He said with the air of someone who knows he's going to get what he wants.

Just then I heard a squeak and realized I didn't feel Ami holding onto my skirts anymore. I whirled around in terror and saw a sailor holding her tightly with his hand covering her mouth.

"Ami." I whispered. Of course. He could get me to do anything he wanted, and all he had to do was threaten Ami's life. I turned back to Ikuto, holding my tears back. I stared at the floor and clenched my hands as I said the words that I swore moments ago not to say.

"All right. I'll give it to you. Just don't hurt Ami."

"There's a good girl." I could hear the smile in his voice. I brought out my piece of the Seven Seas Treasure map, and handed it to him without so much as looking up or saying a word. Although there were plenty of words I wanted to call him, but I knew that wouldn't help anything. The sailor released Ami and she raced into my outstretched arms.

I hugged her tightly, never wanting to let go. Then I heard a cough behind me and I turned towards Ikuto with utter disgust on my face. "Can we leave now?" he seemed taken aback by my expression, but straightened his expression and granted me permission to leave. But just as I was leaving the room he called out to me.

"Oh yes, Miss Hinamori. You are free to wander the ship, until tonight when you will be shut in your room again because we will be going into the harbor so we can refill our water and food supply." I had stopped walking until he finished and then I kept walking all the way to the room. I didn't want freedom around the ship right now. Right now I only wanted freedom to go back home. _Home_. Did I even have such a thing? My parents were dead, and I knew my uncle and aunt would hate me for getting their daughter kidnapped, even if I brought Ami back safely. Ami was the only one with a place to go. If I could only get her off the ship. But I had no idea how to do that. I put my head in between my knees, a position that calmed me.

Just then Kukai came in through the open door. "Go away," I said to him in a dead tone. Ami, who was sitting beside me, looked up at me with a whimper. Kukai sat in front of me anyway and crossed his legs. He stared at his hands for a moment before talking in fast quiet tones.

"Amu, I am so sorry that I told him. But he is my captain, and I am his first mate. I have duties to him, like a subject has duties to his king." I didn't want to hear his apologies. "But," he added, and that caught my attention. "I don't approve of what Ikuto is doing. He shouldn't have kidnapped you and Ami, that was way too risky and dangerous. And if they knew we were the ones that did it we'd be wanted criminals." I was looking at him now, really looking. His face was truthful and sincere, and I could usually tell when someone was lying to me. I sighed.

"Alright Kukai. I understand why you had to do it, and I forgive you."

He beamed at me and grabbed my hand and pulled me up. "Ok Miss Hinamori, now I'm going to introduce you to the crew. If you're going to be here for a while then you should at least know who everyone is and know your way around. No one can ever say that the _Black Lynx_ crew isn't friendly, at least." He stopped when he noticed my gaping mouth.

"This-this is the _Black Lynx_?" I managed to ask, my mouth feeling dry. He nodded. "Then…then Ikuto is…_Captain Tsukiyomi?_" I whispered in disbelief. He nodded again, looking confused by my shock. I remembered wishing only a few days ago, that I could meet Captain Tsukiyomi. This was so not what I meant. I fell back into the straw, still shocked from my discovery.

"Come on!" Kukai grumbled. "There's nothing _that_ special about us." I looked up at him. "But, you were supposed to be heroes! You saved that ship's crew, you were supposed to be _good_!" he shook his head. "No, Amu. That was years ago, before Ikuto was captain, before I was first mate. Back then it was Captain Aruto, he was a good man. But he spent too much time on the seas; in doing that he left Ikuto and his mother to fend for themselves. Then one night some thieves broke into Ikuto's house. He was only twelve, and his father was gone on another long trip.

The thieves came in none too quietly, and Ikuto's mother Souko woke up. She heard the robbers and told Ikuto to hide under the bed. He did so, and heard the men's voices. They demanded something, it sounded like they were looking for a map. His mother told them nothing, except that she had no idea where it was. The men's voices soon became angrier. Suddenly a gunshot rang in the air, and Ikuto knew immediately what had happened. They had shot his mother.

He waited for the men to leave and then ran to the neighbor's. Weeks later his father came back and found that his wife was dead and buried, and his son hated him. Ikuto hated his father not only because he was gone so much, but because he had _left_ them. If he had been here then the men would not have killed his mother. Ikuto grew up bitter and rebellious, his only light in life being when his father died a few months ago and left him his ship and the piece of the map. The same map piece that the murderers of his mother had been looking for.

He mostly just sails now, searching for others with the same hidden map piece. When he heard about you, it was like life was breathed into him. I'm grateful to you for that, Hinamori Amu. Even if you didn't exactly do anything." He added upon seeing my doubtful expression. "I've been Ikuto's best friend for a long time, and even though I'm sorry he stole your map piece, I'm glad he has it because…because now he's alive. He has hope." I gave him a shaky smile but mostly just tried to process everything I'd just been told. I was beginning to feel sorry for Ikuto.

"Now come on!" he snatched my hand and dragged me out the door with Ami following at my heels. "You're going to come meet the crew!" he stopped for a moment with a thoughtful expression. "You know, Hinamori, you won't get much exercise sitting in that room all day." "What's your point?" I asked. "I could give you special training so you won't get weak from so much sitting around." He looked kind of excited about this, like I was giving him a present. Except I hadn't given it to him yet. He looked at me with puppy eyes, eyes that I could never resist. Exhibit A, Ami.

I sighed. "Oh, alright." He grinned and grabbed my arm. Just before he began I realized what he was about to do and grabbed Ami. Kukai raced off, me running and tripping to keep up with him. The ship was large, but not big enough to race around. We had to circle poles and sailors, laughing as we went. Kukai introduced me to some of the sailors. Kairi, a quiet man who seemed like he should be doing an accountant's work rather than a sailor's; Nikaidou, who kept irritatingly calling me 'Himamori'; and Tadase. I'd met Tadase before. He was with Kukai, when they had kidnapped me and Ami. I shook his hand politely but walked away from those cold metallic red eyes as fast as I could. Of course, that wasn't hard considering Kukai wanted to go fast too.

Now I stood by the rail of the ship, leaning over it slightly and letting the cool sea breeze ruffle my hair. I could see the approaching city lights. I sighed when Kukai came to tell me what I already knew, that I had to go back in the room that had a wall for a door. I didn't like the room, because I felt so trapped. But I went back anyways, first sucking in as much fresh air as I could. Even back in the room I stayed by the porthole just to smell the ocean air.

_**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTES! **_

_**Should Utau be evil or kind? Should she be in love with Ikuto? I need y'all to tell me in your awesome reviews!**_

_**I want you to know that in this story, the treasure represents the embryo. It stands for freedom for Amu, and who knows what it means to Ikuto ;)**_

_**I also want you to know that what inspired this story was Pirates of the Caribbean, and you may recognize little bits from it, not that I own POTC or anything.**_

_**Ok that's all, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'll update as soon as I can, but I'm not sure when that will be because I'm going to be very busy for a while. I'll do my best though. Please review and tell me your opinion about #1.**_

_**Thanks,**_

_**kittyallstars**_


End file.
